Nursebarbie

I can't wait either....just pulled out a pair of white skinny jeans brand new size 18 to try on. Way too tight now but I'm curious just how fast I will be able to get into them without looking like a stuffed sausage.

I have a lap band and I have hated every single minute of it. slipped a week ago so this Friday I'm getting it out and converted to a sleeve. My surgeon thinks we will be seeing attorney commericals for class action lawsuits against lap band soon. It will not at all what I was led to believe about it. First it is about as reversible as leaving a tourniquet on your arm for 5 years and expecting it to be ok. Its not. Second the limitations of what you can eat without getting stuck or slimeing lead to unfortunate choices of soft foods that slide down easier. The port accessing hurts and sometimes it shocks me when I'm walking. It always makes its presence known. Cannot ever forget its there. It requires so much maintence and follow up. And doctors are really reluctant to touch another surgeons work. Most people I know hate their band. I know I do. Absolute nightmare.

Me too. But really its the only place I can find regular looking clothes and wide shoes. Not to mention bras in a G cup. Can't wait to try regular clothes shopping soon. I'm thinking Old Navy since its pretty inexpensive.

I saw why wait? I'm not.

My surgery is june 28th too! But I'm here in the LA area. Let's keep each other motivated ok?

My surgery is Friday. But I'm psyching myself up. Go ahead, give it a try....

As a RN myself, I have to say that it is pretty embarassing. But I will also tell you that none of these WLS procedures is really taught or discussed in nursing school. Especially if you graduated over 10 years ago like me. Heck, I didn't even know what a sleeve was until last week! I'm home trying to hang in until this Friday for my band to sleeve surgery. Band slipped and the nausea is awful. Its stable enough to wait so that is what I'm doing. Waiting. Hang in there I'm sure you will feel better soon.

I'm having mine at Harbor City Kaiser with Dr. Zane next week. I think he is fantastic. The only thing I would change would be to have it done in OC area where I live.

I was wondering the same thing! My lap band surgery was my only surgery experience and it was AWFUL! I've read that alot of people say that about lap band vs the sleeve revision. Maybe its because you know kind of what to expect. Anyhow, I am super excited and lets see what happens!!!!!! Hugs to you all! xoxoxoxo

Please do not be hard on yourself. After I all, we gained alot of weight because we LOVE food not hate it, right? I remember sitting in the doctor office 2 days after I had my lap band in place and I could over hear another patient saying she was post op Day 1 and ate a porterhouse steak and still was hungry! I couldn't even keep down Water. Everyone is different- and remember your stomach was operated on- not your brain, it still thinks the same way. I say post some pics of yourself that you REALLY REALLY hate on the fridge, on the pantry, in your wallet- anywhere you have food or may be tempted to eat- and look at it, really look at it. And please continue to come here where you are safe and in the same boat with all of us to support you. After all, who really wants to vent or whine to a naturally skinny person???? I'm here for you....message me anytime. My lap band removal and sleeve revision is next Friday. I know I will need the support too. Hugs!

Absolutely check with your insurance company about what is covered if you do have complications- I work in case management and I do know many insurances will cover getting it in but not getting it out or the fills/unfills or even if you have complications. And sometimes they only cover 1 weight loss surgery for a lifetime- so wouldn't it make sense to make it be the one that has demonstrated the most success? There are many many people out there that have had partial or total removal of their stomach not for weight loss but due to cancer/etc and they do just fine. I would do some more homework with your insurance company first and ask those questions. Then you should be able to feel confident in whatever decision you make. Good Luck!

I am having my lap band out next Friday and a revision to the gastric sleeve. I'm a Kaiser patient and it has been wonderful so far. Previously I was with one of those large heavily advertised lap band companies who basically deserted me once my surgery was over. Keep trying, many people have been denied only to win on appealing (even on the 4th) time. Good luck!

I am new here but I really felt the need to respond to you. I got a lap band back in 2011, since then I have had 4 hospitalizations, persistent nausea, fainting after I eat, and many more problems than that. I was led to believe that lap band was not only safer but easier to recover from and that is was completely reversible. As a RN, I thought wow, that sounds great. What I didn't know what that most people end of having the band removed either because it didn't really work or it slipped/eroded/etc. The aftercare for the band requires accessing your port for fills, unfillings if it too tight, and avoidance of certain textures of food because things get stuck even if your band has no saline in it. Many people get "stuck" and there is this odd thing of this slime that starts to come up, eventually you starts kind of burping without noise and out comes your food. I throw up 4 or more times a day because of this. So what ends up happening is you begin to eat foods that go down easy- mashed potatoes, Pasta, creamy Soups, etc which aren't great for weight loss. Even if you are diligent in your diet, your band can still slip. After all your organs do move around a bit when you move and it basically kind hula hoops or slides out of place. For me, it would slide over my Vagal nerve and I would faint. Finally, my band slipped which I found out last week. My lap band surgeon was one of those 1 800 Lap Band kind of places and as soon as I had my surgery they deserted me. I am now in Kaiser and my new surgeon is fantastic. I had never considered the gastric sleeve. Honestly I have never heard of it and I am a RN. When he explained that the gastric sleeve did away with "95% of the complications of bypass" I was sold. You basically still have a small stomach with all the normal plumbing and thus more normal function and absorption. So less likely to dump or have malnutrition issues. Not that surgery is without its complications but it seems much less so. I am having my band removed June 28th with a revision to the gastric sleeve. I cannot wait. Another thing about the band, you are a slave to it. If you eat something you shouldn't- you will get stuck. Also, if you overeat- it sits in your esophagus for a long time which also causes heart burn and back flow of the acid. Sometimes my port shocks me- little electric shocks. When I woke up from Lap Band surgery I was screaming in agony- I was in tremendous pain and I have a very high tolerance to pain in general. Many stories I heard on hear people say the revision to the sleeve seemed to go better or was easier than lap band. I also saw alot of research that by removing the larger portion of the stomach, the ghrelin (hunger hormone) is almost completely gone. Lap band patients have experienced up to 50% increase in this hunger hormone over the first 8 months. Something to consider. If you want a bottom line, if you want a permanent solution and are going to do surgery anyways- consider doing the sleeve. I was on the lap band talk website for 2 years and many of them are now doing the revision to the sleeve or even to a bypass. Most seem to regret getting the band in general and most did not lose the kind of weight they wanted to. I wish someone had said its not going to be easy, you will have to think and remember you have a band every day, and explained to me my other options- I may not have went the lap band route. Just something to consider.

Thanks for the encouragement. I'm very excited to finally do something permanent. One of the selling points for me about getting the band in the first place was that it was reversible. What a fallacy that was. And not only that, who wants to reverse back to being fat? Was I going to wake up one day and say I'm tired of being thin, I miss being fat? Of course not. Now that I have this band I am miserable. Lost 2 jobs due to being out sick too long. All this for 35 pounds lost? Anyhow I am so grateful that I can have a revision to the sleeve when my band is taken out. Hopefully. I look forward to a permanent solution rather than the roller coaster ride called Lap Band.

I'm June 28th... is that close enough???

Hello everyone, I went to visit my new surgeon (I'm Kaiser now) to discuss my lap band slipping. I was thinking we could just take out a little saline and see what happens. Never heard of the sleeve before today but when he discussed this option while taking out my band at the same time- I immediately knew it was the right decision. My band has been a total nightmare. The group who performed my band surgery pretty much deserted me after my operation. Kaiser has been a dream come true for me. There were things about the band I was never told- like most people get it out about 2-5 years later and almost nobody has it in after 10 years. I was led to believe this band stayed in forever. I also thought it was going to be a simple surgery. Wrong. I have been hospitalized so many times for problems. I faint after I eat sometimes because its pushing up again my Vagal nerve. And its been too tight for months- finally after months of vomiting/getting food stuck constantly/and slime issues- it slipped. Thank God, because it slipped I pay for nothing- my insurance will cover this as well as my revision to the sleeve. I am so excited to have my surgery June 28th. It is so helpful to read all your comments and stories. Today my surgeon removed almost all of the saline explaining it helps to reduce any swelling to make surgery and revision easier. And I am so happy to NEVER have to get a fill or have this port accessed again. Yippee!